Hi was wondering if anyone can help..my ex partner has 2 domestic charges for causing threat and damaging my house..he got a prison sentence one of those times..I took him back and we have a 5 month old son..tried to make relationship work but it's totally over..he now wants access to son which I have no problem to but only at his grandparents house where he is staying at the moment and they are there to supervise..is this unreasonable? I'm sure if it went to court it could be a worse situation for him? I think I could go down contact centre route but rather avoid that..please help..thanks

I see from your post that you are wondering about the best way that your ex-partner can have contact with your baby son.

As there were domestic violence issues in the past, was Children Services involved with you at all during your pregnancy or following the birth of your son. It appears from your post that they probably have not. The reason I ask this, is because they may have concerns about contact between your ex-partner and the baby.

If there has been no involvement with Children Services, then it is really up to you what arrangements you make for contact. Obviously, you will want contact to be safe for your son and you have so far ensured that contact is being supervised by your ex-partner’s grandparents. Should this arrangement change, then you will have to decide how best to move forward with contact and how it will be supervised. It may be that if there is no family member willing to help, then you may have to consider using a contact centre.

I do not think the contact you are offering at the moment would be considered unreasonable especially taking account of the baby’s age. I have included an advice sheet here here

about parental responsibility for your information. If your ex-partner is not on the baby’s birth certificate then he does not share parental responsibility with you. This is the legal framework setting a parent’s legal duties and responsibilities to a child.

Were you to decide that contact is not possible for any reason, the father could decide, if he wishes, to take the matter to court to have supervised or unsupervised contact. I suggest you contact the Children’s Legal Centre on 0300 330 5480 for more information about the court process if there is an application. If Children Services are not involved, then this is the best organisation to advice you.